COLORADO: HITTING: This offense still has trouble scoring outside of Coors Field, posting the second-fewest road runs in the majors (3.65 per game). SS TROY TULOWITZKI doesn't need the thin air though, posting an .881 OPS on the road. He led Colorado with a .302 BA, 30 HR, 105 RBI. OF CARLOS GONZALEZ was bothered by wrist and back injuries last year, but still managed to smack 26 homers with 92 RBI and 92 runs. OF DEXTER FOWLER will bat first or second after a strong .363 OBP. He could score 100 runs if he improved his base stealing (12 SB, 9 CS). OF MICHAEL CUDDYER gets the Coors Field Bump, while TYLER COLVIN settles into the 4th-OF role. Colorado has question marks with its corner infielders. 1B TODD HELTON is 38 with a bad back, and mediocre 3B CHRIS NELSON will start until top prospect NOLAN ARENADO is ready for the big leagues. 2B MARCO SCUTARO carries a louder stick than most two-baggers and C RAMON HERNANDEZ (.788 OPS) is an upgrade over the departed Chris Iannetta. STARTING PITCHING: There are plenty of question marks in Colorado's rotation with Ubaldo Jimenez pitching in the AL and two of its top three starters coming off major injuries. JORGE DE LA ROSA had Tommy John surgery and won't likely return to a big-league mound until June. De La Rosa had a 1.19 WHIP and 52 strikeouts in 59 innings before his injury. JHOULYS CHACIN will be counted on as the rotation's ace and he certainly has the physical tools and array of pitches to live up to this billing if he can trim his 87 walks in 194 innings. Former Baltimore 'ace' JEREMY GUTRHIE threw for 200+ innings in each of his past three seasons, but he's also served up 86 gopher balls in this span. That's not a good sign of things to come in the thin air. JUAN NICASIO took a line drive off the head and broke his C-1 vertebrae in August, but the team amazingly expects him to ready when the season begins. The 25-year-old has great command for such a young hurler. GUILLERMO MOSCOCO fared pretty well as a starter with the A's last year (.209 Opp. BA), but his 4.70 road ERA nearly doubled his 2.42 ERA in Oakland . Lefty DREW POMERANZ, 23, has a wealthy array of pitches and performed admirably in three of his four starts after being called up last season. RELIEF PITCHING: Although he was the team's main set-up man last year, RAFAEL BETANCOURT becomes the Rockies closer with Huston Street out of the picture. After struggling at Coors Field in 2010 (4.99 ERA, 7 HR), he thrived in the thin air last year with a 1.93 ERA, and just 1 HR allowed in 32.2 innings. But he turns 37 in April and is one of the riskier saves men with little closing experience in his career. MATT BELISLE figures to be next in line for saves, notching 70 K and 16 BB at Coors Field since 2010. MATT REYNOLDS is the top lefty in the pen, but his 2011 season was nothing to write home about (4.09 ERA, 10 HR allowed in 50.2 IP).

LA DODGERS: HITTING: The Dodgers were ravaged with injuries in 2010 and finished in the bottom third in the majors in runs (4.00 per game), homers (117) and OPS (.697). None of these poor numbers were the fault of OF MATT KEMP, who finished second in MVP voting with a .324 BA, 39 HR, 126 RBI and 40 steals. He says he wants a 50-50 season in 2012. 1B JAMES LONEY had the second-most homers (12) of any returning player, and batted .357 with a .608 SLG after August 1. If speedy SS DEE GORDON learns to be more patient at the plate (7 BB in 224 AB), he could score 90 runs from the top of the order. OF ANDRE ETHIER made headlines with a 30-game hit streak, but was once again dominated by lefties (.563 OPS). The team is counting on two veterans to drive in runs. 3B JUAN URIBE has been a walking infirmary lately, but still has 15-HR power, and OF JUAN RIVERA had 46 RBI in 219 AB after coming to the Dodgers. Two guys named Ellis, 2B MARK ELLIS and C A.J. ELLIS, will bat at the bottom of the order. STARTING PITCHING: The Dodgers remain one of the better rotations in baseball, placing third in the majors in ERA (3.41) and fourth in opponents' BA (.242). The biggest reason for the success was the NL Cy Young and Triple Crown-winning performance of CLAYTON KERSHAW, who tied for the NL lead in wins (21) and topped all NL pitchers in ERA (2.28) and strikeouts (248). Fellow southpaw TED LILLY had a down year overall (12-14, 3.97 ERA), but had a fantastic final two months of the season (2.09 ERA, 0.93 WHIP). CHAD BILLINGSLEY notched his fifth straight season of double-digit wins, despite sporting a mediocre 4.21 ERA and 1.45 WHIP. AARON HARANG signed a two-year, $12M deal to join the Dodgers rotation. He won 14 games for the lowly Padres last year and finished with a career-best 3.64 ERA. CHRIS CAPUANO left the Mets for richer pastures (2-yr, $10M) of Los Angeles. Although he pitched well at spacious Citi Field (3.82 ERA, 1.21 WHIP), he was terrible on the road (5.42 ERA, 1.51 WHIP). RELIEF PITCHING: Jonathan Broxton is gone, ending any kind of closer controversy the Dodgers may have been trying to avoid. JAVY GUERRA is the closer, and for good reason. He converted 21-of-23 save chances while posting a 2.31 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and allowing just two homers in 46.2 innings. If Guerra falters, manager Don Mattingly can afford to have a short leash with KENLEY JANSEN as his set-up man. Jansen led the majors with an insane 16.1 K-per-9 ratio and limited opponents to a .159 BA and .228 slugging percentage. At age 24, his upside is extremely high. MATT GUERRIER is a usually reliable reliever, but he is coming off a subpar 2011 campaign (4.07 ERA, 1.27 WHIP).

A pair of former All-Star shortstops might be back in their respective lineups at Chavez Ravine.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are hoping Hanley Ramirez will have the greater impact.

Ramirez could make his first start of the season Tuesday night while Troy Tulowitzki is likely to return for the Colorado Rockies.

Ramirez started the season on the disabled list with a torn ligament in his right thumb suffered during the championship game of the World Baseball Classic. He was activated Monday and struck out in a pinch-hit appearance in a 12-2 loss to the Rockies (16-10).

"I'm ready to go," said Ramirez, who will wear a splint on his thumb. "It's not 100 percent, but I can defend myself on the field. I just want to be in there. I don't want to wait any longer. I think I can play."

Los Angeles (12-13) may be hoping for a jolt of offense from Ramirez since it's hitting .198 over the past six games.

Ramirez, a three-time All-Star, hit .271 with 10 homers and 44 RBIs in 64 games after the Dodgers acquired him from Miami in a four-player trade in July.

He's batting .354 with 10 runs and five stolen bases over his last 13 meetings with the Rockies, who may welcome back Tulowitzki after he sat out Monday's game.

Tulowitzki hurt his shoulder on an awkward slide into home in the first inning of Sunday's 4-2 loss at Arizona.

The two-time All-Star has a .308 average with six homers and a team-high 22 RBIs, though he doesn't have one in his last five matchups with Los Angeles while going 3 for 20.

The Rockies didn't seem to miss Tulowitzki while turning in their best offensive showing of the year Monday. Their 19 hits were a season high and included three homers.

"That was impressive. It was just what the doctor ordered," manager Walt Weiss said.

Colorado's 35 home runs are tied with the New York Yankees for second in the majors, one back of Atlanta.

Jorge De La Rosa (2-2, 2.86 ERA) is scheduled to take the mound in search of his first win over the Dodgers.

The left-hander is 0-7 with a 6.22 ERA in 13 games against them, including nine starts. He's 0-3 in five starts at Chavez Ravine despite a 2.49 ERA, having been backed by just five total runs.

De La Rosa has been pretty reliable of late. He's gone six innings in four consecutive starts, allowing a combined five earned runs.

The Dodgers turn to rookie Hyun-Jin Ryu (2-1, 3.41), who is facing the Rockies for the first time while trying to build on his longest and best start of the season.

The South Korean left-hander allowed one run and three hits in seven innings while not getting a decision in Thursday's 3-2 road win over the New York Mets.

Ryu is taking the mound at home for the first time since April 7, when he yielded two runs and three hits in 6 1-3 innings of a 6-2 win over Pittsburgh.